Silvio O. Conte Centers for Basic Neuroscience or Translational Mental Health Research (P50 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 18 737

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 18 737

The Silvio O. Conte Centers for Basic Neuroscience or Translational Mental Health Research (P50 Clinical Trial Optional) funding opportunity (PAR 18-737) is an NIH discretionary grant mechanism designed to support large, highly integrated research centers that tackle major, difficult questions in neuroscience and mental health. The emphasis is on bold, high-risk and high-impact science that benefits from a center structure, meaning the work is expected to be more synergistic and interconnected than what could realistically be accomplished through typical single-investigator or standard multi-project awards. These Conte Centers are built around interdisciplinary teams that work across different levels of analysis, bringing together complementary perspectives and methods to accelerate progress in understanding brain function and mental illness.

The research scope spans two broad lanes: basic neuroscience and translational mental health research. For basic neuroscience, the goal is to push forward fundamental brain and behavior science by uncovering and dissecting underlying mechanisms that can ultimately lay the groundwork for understanding mental disorders. For translational efforts, the program encourages projects that bridge basic and clinical neuroscience, especially where integration is essential to make meaningful progress. A key focus area is severe mental illnesses, with an explicit interest in research programs that connect discoveries in neural circuits, genes, cells, and behavior to clinical phenomena in a coherent way. Another major priority is developmental psychopathology, particularly neurobehavioral mechanisms and trajectories that begin in childhood and adolescence, where early-life pathways may shape later mental health outcomes. In practice, this means the FOA is looking for center-level programs that can link developmental processes to risk, resilience, and the emergence of symptoms across time.

A defining feature of the Conte Centers program is the expectation of an extraordinary level of integration. The center should not read like a collection of loosely related projects; it should function as a coordinated scientific enterprise where individual components inform one another, share conceptual frameworks and tools, and collectively produce insights that would not emerge from the parts alone. The FOA also highlights the use of integrative, novel, and creative experimental approaches, signaling that applicants are encouraged to propose cutting-edge strategies, cross-disciplinary methods, and innovative study designs when they are well-justified by the scientific questions. The "Clinical Trial Optional" label indicates that clinical trials may be included if appropriate, but they are not required; the center can be entirely basic, entirely translational, or a strategically designed blend of both.

Beyond the science, the program is also meant to strengthen the research workforce. Conte Centers are expected to create meaningful interdisciplinary research experiences for students and postdoctoral researchers, leveraging the center environment to provide training and professional development that cuts across traditional departmental boundaries. This reflects the broader intent to cultivate researchers who are comfortable working at interfaces such as computational and experimental neuroscience, basic and clinical research, or molecular and systems-level approaches.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations: state, county, city, township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education when applying under the nonprofit category); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, non-U.S. (foreign) institutions are not eligible to apply as applicant organizations, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, foreign components are allowed under NIH policy, meaning a U.S. applicant can include certain defined international elements when justified and compliant with the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

From the administrative details provided, this opportunity was created on 2018-04-02, with an original closing date listed as 2019-05-24. The award ceiling is noted as $2,000,000, indicating the program supports substantial, center-scale budgets consistent with multi-component, collaborative research enterprises. The CFDA number associated with the program is 93.242, and the sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health. Overall, this FOA is best understood as a center grant meant for teams that can convincingly demonstrate that their scientific aims require deep coordination, shared infrastructure or conceptual integration, and a scale of collaboration that goes beyond what standard grant mechanisms are designed to support.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Silvio O. Conte Centers for Basic Neuroscience or Translational Mental Health Research (P50 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-04-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-05-24. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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